MAPLight.org California Launches Prop. 23 Page with Daily Campaign Finance Updates from Secretary of State Web Site Data categorized by total contributions, top contributors, and contributions by state

BERKELEY, CA, October 11, 2010--MAPLight.org California, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, that provides citizens and journalists the transparency tools to shine a light on the influence of money on politics, announces the launch of its Proposition 23 Page. The page is updated daily with campaign finance data from the California Secretary of State Web site. The data is broken down into support of and opposition to the proposed law and then categorized by total contributions, top contributors, and contributions by state.

"Ballot measures write laws that California citizens will live under for years to come," said Daniel Newman, MAPLight.org executive director. "California voters deserve to know who is spending millions of dollars to influence laws in our state. MAPLight.org's new Prop. 23 page shines a light on the money fueling the debate surrounding this proposed law."

According to the Secretary of State website, "Proposition 23 suspends air pollution control laws requiring major polluters to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming until unemployment drops below specified level." Full text of the proposed law can be found here.

MAPLight.org researchers have also posted the raw campaign finance data in a downloadable Excel format so journalists can sort and execute their own research. Sign up here to receive update alerts via email.

About MAPLight.org:MAPLight.orgis a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization based in Berkeley, California. Its mission is to illuminate the connection between Money and Politics (MAP) using its groundbreaking database of campaign contributions and legislative votes. MAPLight.org combines data from the Federal Election Commission, the Center for Responsive Politics, GovTrack.us, the National Institute on Money in State Politics (NIMSP), the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, and other sources to better inform Americans and local and national media about the role of special-interest money in our political system.

MAPLight.org has received numerous awards including a Knight-Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism, a James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California Chapter, and a Webby nomination for best Politics website. To learn more, please visit: MAPLight.org. If our work has been helpful to you, please consider supporting us.

Media Contact

About our data

Read the details about our data sources and methodology. Data refers to direct contributions to the campaign committees of elected legislators. For example, contribution totals exclude contributions to party committees such as the RNC or the DNC and exclude contributions made to individuals that did not win their election.

For U.S. Congress, contributions data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org) and legislative data provided by GovTrack.us.

California contributions data provided by the National Institute on Money in State Politics (FollowTheMoney.org).